Easy to make, with a subtle pumpkin flavor these drop scones are moist and tender with just a hint of sweetness on their own. But with a cinnamon glaze, these go from subtly delicious to fall-flavored scrumptious. Perfect with a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast or afternoon snack. These scones are a great way to celebrate fall.
I froze these and brought them along on our family beach vacation to celebrate the first day of fall. I’ve been having a hard time internalizing the passage of time, I feel perpetually 5-6 months behind, so I’m trying to make a concerted effort to really acknowledge new seasons. So I’m going to try making seasonal recipes to mark the start of a new season (regardless of what the weather is). There’s not much more fall like than pumpkin, so these were a fun place to start. I thought the cinnamon glaze might be a bit much, but the combination of cinnamon and maple was just enough to highlight the pumpkin flavor.
I don’t make scones very often because I HATE having to cut in the butter, so I made these with a food processor which makes that SO much easier. But if you don’t have a large food processor or you hate cleaning it more than you hate cutting in butter, I recommend freezing the butter sticks for a bit and then using a box grater to carefully grate the butter into small pieces. I’ve done it both ways, and a food processor is my preferred method, but if you’re patient, it’s not too bad using the box grater. I also doubled the original recipe so that I could use a whole can of pumpkin puree (I hate having little bits of leftover cans), but then the batter was too soft to make into the planned cut triangular scones, so I just used a large cookie scoop and made them into drop scones. Not quite as pretty, but definitely delicious. And I think the whole family agreed that these are keepers.
Do you have any traditions to help mark the passage of time? What are your favorite fall flavors or recipes?
Pumpkin Drop Scones with Cinnamon Glaze
Adapted from Diala’s Kitchen
Makes about 20 drop scones
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 lb (3 sticks) cold butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk with a splash of vinegar)
- 15oz can pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup whipping cream (to top)
- 4 Tbsp raw (turbinado) sugar (to top)
Cinnamon Glaze (if you plan on serving the scones hot, you may only need 1/2 the glaze)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- Toasted pecans and pepita seeds to top (optional)
Before you begin, wash hands with soap and water.
In a large food processor, add 2 cups flour and 1.5 sticks butter cut into tablespoons. Pulse until butter is well distributed and no bigger than pea-sized. Dump mixture into a large bowl, then repeat with the remaining 2 cups flour and another 1.5 sticks of cold butter. To the flour-butter mixture, add the sugar, baking powder, spices, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. [Alternatively if you don’t have a food processor, carefully grate frozen butter using a box grater and mix into the dry ingredients]. Mix in the chopped pecans.
Mix in the eggs, vanilla, buttermilk, pumpkin puree.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop the scones out using a large (3 Tbsp) cookie scoop. Freeze the scones until firm (about 30 minutes), then either bake or store in a freezer bag until ready to use.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400°F. Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Space scones about 2″ apart and brush with whipping cream and a sprinkle of raw sugar. Bake until golden, about 25-30 minutes.
While scones are baking, mix together the Cinnamon Glaze.
Top scones with glaze and toasted pecans/pumpkin seeds as desired. Enjoy!
*If you are not planning on serving the scones right away, let them cool completely before topping with cinnamon glaze, otherwise the glaze starts to melt into the hot scones (delicious, but messy).